WEST VIRGINIA CODE

WVC 17 B- 3 - 1
§17B-3-1. Authority of division to cancel license.
The division is hereby authorized to cancel any operator's or
chauffeur's license in any of the following events:

(1) When the division determines that the licensee was not
entitled to the issuance thereof hereunder; or

(2) When said licensee failed to give the required or correct
information in his application; or

(3) When said licensee committed any fraud in making such
application; or

(4) When the division determines that the required fee has not
been paid and the same is not paid upon reasonable notice or
demand.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 2
§17B-3-2. Suspending privileges of nonresidents and reporting
convictions.
The privilege of driving a motor vehicle on the highways of
this state given to a nonresident hereunder shall be subject to
suspension or revocation by the department in like manner and for
like cause as an operator's or chauffeur's license issued
hereunder may be suspended or revoked.

The department shall, upon receiving a record of the
conviction in this state of a nonresident driver of a motor
vehicle of any offense under the motor vehicle laws of this
state, forward a certified copy of such record to the motor
vehicle administrator in the state wherein the person so
convicted is a resident.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 3
§17B-3-3. Suspending resident's license upon conviction in
another state.
The department is authorized to suspend or revoke the
license of any resident of this state or the privilege of a
nonresident to drive a motor vehicle in this state upon receiving
notice of the conviction of such person in another state of an
offense therein which, if committed in this state, would be a
ground for the suspension or revocation of the license of an
operator or chauffeur.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 3 A
§17B-3-3a. Suspending license for failure to pay fines or
penalties imposed by magistrate court or municipal
court.
(a) The division shall suspend the license of any resident of
this state or the privilege of a nonresident to drive a motor
vehicle in this state upon receiving notice from a magistrate court
or municipal court of this state, pursuant to subsection (b),
section two-a, article three, chapter fifty of this code or
subsection (b), section two-a, article ten, chapter eight of this
code, that such person has defaulted on the payment of costs,
fines, forfeitures or penalties which were imposed on the person by
the magistrate court or municipal court by judgment entered upon
conviction of any motor vehicle violation or that such person has
failed to respond or appear in court when charged with a motor
vehicle violation.

(b) The magistrate court or municipal court shall notify the
division upon a default of payment as follows:

(1) For a resident of this state, after one hundred eighty
days following the date of judgment upon the conviction; or

(2) For a nonresident of this state, after eighty days
following the date of judgment upon the conviction.

(c) For the purposes of this section, section two-a, article
three, chapter fifty of this code and section two-a, article ten,
chapter eight of this code, "motor vehicle violation" shall be
defined as any violation designated in chapter seventeen-a, seventeen-b, seventeen-c, seventeen-d or seventeen-e of this code
or the violation of any municipal ordinance relating to the
operation of a motor vehicle for which the violation thereof would
result in a fine or penalty: Provided, That any parking violation
or other violation for which a citation may be issued to an
unattended vehicle shall not be considered a motor vehicle
violation for the purposes of this section, section two-a, article
three, chapter fifty of this code or section two-a, article ten,
chapter eight of this code.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 3 C
§17B-3-3c. Suspending license for failure to pay fines or
penalties imposed as the result of criminal
conviction or for failure to appear in court.
(a) The Division shall suspend the license of any resident of
this state or the privilege of a nonresident to drive a motor
vehicle in this state upon receiving notice from a circuit court,
magistrate court or municipal court of this state, pursuant to
section two-b, article three, chapter fifty of this code or section
two-b, article ten, chapter eight of said code or section
seventeen, article four, chapter sixty-two of said code, that such
person has defaulted on the payment of costs, fines, forfeitures,
penalties or restitution imposed on the person by the circuit
court, magistrate court or municipal court upon conviction for any
criminal offense by the date such court had required such person to
pay the same, or that such person has failed to appear in court
when charged with such an offense. For the purposes of this
section; section two-b, article three, chapter fifty of said code;
section two-b, article ten, chapter eight of said code; and section
seventeen, article four, chapter sixty-two of said code, "criminal
offense" shall be defined as any violation of the provisions of
this code, or the violation of any municipal ordinance, for which
the violation thereof may result in a fine, confinement in jail or
imprisonment in a correctional facility of this state: Provided,
That any parking violation or other violation for which a citation
may be issued to an unattended vehicle shall not be considered a criminal offense for the purposes of this section; section two-b,
article ten, chapter eight of said code; section two-b, article
three, chapter fifty of said code; or section seventeen, article
four, chapter sixty-two of said code.

(b) A copy of the order of suspension shall be forwarded to
such person by certified mail, return receipt requested. No order
of suspension becomes effective until ten days after receipt of a
copy of such order. The order of suspension shall advise the
person that because of the receipt of notice of the failure to pay
costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties, or the failure to appear,
a presumption exists that the person named in the order of
suspension is the same person named in the notice. The
Commissioner may grant an administrative hearing which
substantially complies with the requirements of the provisions of
section two, article five-a, chapter seventeen-c of this code upon
a preliminary showing that a possibility exists that the person
named in the notice of conviction is not the same person whose
license is being suspended. Such request for hearing shall be made
within ten days after receipt of a copy of the order of suspension.
The sole purpose of this hearing shall be for the person requesting
the hearing to present evidence that he or she is not the person
named in the notice. In the event the Commissioner grants an
administrative hearing, the Commissioner shall stay the license
suspension pending the Commissioner's order resulting from the
hearing.

(c) A suspension under this section and section three-a of
this chapter will continue until the person provides proof of
compliance from the municipal, magistrate or circuit court and pays
the reinstatement fee as provided in section nine of this article.
The reinstatement fee is assessed upon issuance of the order of
suspension regardless of the effective date of suspension.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 4
§17B-3-4. Abstract of judgment of conviction for violation of motor
vehicle laws to be sent to division.

Whenever a conviction is had in any court of record, or in a
justice's court, or in the police court or mayor's court of any
incorporated municipality, for the violation of any law of this
state governing or regulating the licensing or operation of any
motor vehicle, or for the violation of any provision of a charter,
or bylaw, or ordinance of such incorporated municipality governing
or regulating the operation of motor vehicles, except regulations
governing standing or parking, the clerk of every such court, or
the justice, or the clerk or recorder of such municipality, as the
case may be, shall in each case transmit to the division within
seventy-two hours after such conviction is had a certified abstract
of the judgment on such conviction.

For the purposes of this chapter, a forfeiture of bail or
collateral deposited to secure a defendant's appearance in court,
which forfeiture has not been vacated, shall be equivalent to a
conviction.

Wilful failure, refusal or neglect to comply with the
provisions of this section shall subject the person who is guilty
thereof to a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than fifty
dollars and may be the grounds for removal from office.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 5
§17B-3-5. Grounds for mandatory revocation of license by
department.
The department shall forthwith revoke the license of any
operator or chauffeur upon receiving a record of such operator's
or chauffeur's conviction of any of the following offenses, when
such conviction has become final: Provided, That if the
convicted driver had not reached his or her nineteenth birthday
at the time of the conduct for which the license is revoked under
this section, the license shall be revoked until the driver's
nineteenth birthday, or the applicable statutory period of
revocation, whichever is longer:

(1) Manslaughter or negligent homicide resulting from the
operation of a motor vehicle;

(2) Any felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is
used;

(3) Failure to stop and render aid as required under the
laws of this state in the event of involvement in a motor vehicle
accident resulting in the death or personal injury of another;

(4) Perjury or the making of a false affidavit or statement
under oath to the department under this chapter or under any
other law relating to the ownership or operation of motor
vehicles;

(5) Conviction, or forfeiture of bail not vacated, upon
three charges of reckless driving committed within a period of
twenty-four months;

(6) Driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled
substances or other drugs outside the state of West Virginia which conviction is under a municipal ordinance or statute of the
United States or any other state of an offense which has the same
elements as an offense described in section two, article five,
chapter seventeen-c of this code; and

(7) Nothing herein shall prohibit the department from
exercising its authority to revoke or suspend a person's license
to drive a motor vehicle in this state, as provided in chapter
seventeen-c of this code.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 6
§17B-3-6. Authority of division to suspend or revoke license;
hearing.
(a) The division is hereby authorized to suspend the driver's
license of any person without preliminary hearing upon a showing by
its records or other sufficient evidence that the licensee:

(1) Has committed an offense for which mandatory revocation of
a driver's license is required upon conviction;

(2) Has by reckless or unlawful operation of a motor vehicle,
caused or contributed to an accident resulting in the death or
personal injury of another or property damage;

(3) Has been convicted with such frequency of serious offenses
against traffic regulations governing the movement of vehicles as
to indicate a disrespect for traffic laws and a disregard for the
safety of other persons on the highways;

(4) Is an habitually reckless or negligent driver of a motor
vehicle;

(5) Is incompetent to drive a motor vehicle;

(6) Has committed an offense in another state which if
committed in this state would be a ground for suspension or
revocation;

(7) Has failed to pay or has defaulted on a plan for the
payment of all costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed by a
magistrate court or municipal court within ninety days, as required
by section two-a, article three, chapter fifty of this code or
section two-a, article ten, chapter eight of this code;

(8) Has failed to appear or otherwise respond before a
magistrate court or municipal court when charged with a motor
vehicle violation as defined in section three-a of this article;

(9) Is under the age of eighteen and has withdrawn either
voluntarily or involuntarily due to misconduct from a secondary
school or has failed to maintain satisfactory academic progress, as
provided in section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this
code; or

(10) Has failed to pay overdue child support or comply with
subpoenas or warrants relating to paternity or child support
proceedings, if a circuit court has ordered the suspension of the
license as provided in article five-a, chapter forty-eight-a of
this code and the Child Support Enforcement Division has forwarded
to the division a copy of the court order suspending the license,
or has forwarded its certification that the licensee has failed to
comply with a new or modified order that stayed the suspension and
provided for the payment of current support and any arrearage due.

(b) The driver's license of any person having his or her
license suspended shall be reinstated if:

(1) The license was suspended under the provisions of
subdivision (7), subsection (a) of this section and the payment of
costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed by the applicable
court has been made;

(2) The license was suspended under the provisions of
subdivision (8), subsection (a) of this section and the person having his or her license suspended has appeared in court and has
prevailed against the motor vehicle violations charged; or

(3) The license was suspended under the provisions of
subdivision (10), subsection (a) of this section and the division
has received a court order restoring the license or a certification
by the Child Support Enforcement Division that the licensee is
complying with the original support order or a new or modified
order that provides for the payment of current support and any
arrearage due.

(c) Any reinstatement of a license under subdivision (1), (2)
or (3), subsection (b) of this section shall be subject to a
reinstatement fee designated in section nine of this article.

(d) Upon suspending the driver's license of any person as
hereinbefore in this section authorized, the division shall
immediately notify the licensee in writing, sent by certified mail,
return receipt requested, to the address given by the licensee in
applying for license, and upon his or her request shall afford him
or her an opportunity for a hearing as early as practical within
not to exceed twenty days after receipt of such request in the
county wherein the licensee resides unless the division and the
licensee agree that such hearing may be held in some other county.
Upon such hearing the commissioner or his or her duly authorized
agent may administer oaths and may issue subpoenas for the
attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant books and
papers and may require a reexamination of the licensee. Upon such hearing the division shall either rescind its order of suspension
or, good cause appearing therefor, may extend the suspension of
such license or revoke such license. The provisions of this
subsection providing for notice and hearing are not applicable to
a suspension under subdivision (10), subsection (a) of this
section.

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of legislative rule 91 CSR
5, the division may, upon completion of an approved defensive
driving course, deduct three points from a licensee's point
accumulation provided the licensee has not reached fourteen points.
If a licensee has been notified of a pending thirty-day driver's
license suspension based on the accumulation of twelve or thirteen
points, the licensee may submit proof of completion of an approved
defensive driving course to deduct three points and rescind the
pending license suspension: Provided, That the licensee submits
proof of prior completion of the course and payment of the
reinstatement fee in accordance with section nine, article three of
this chapter to the division prior to the effective date of the
suspension.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 7
§17B-3-7. Department may require reexamination.
The department, having good cause to believe that a licensed
operator or chauffeur is incompetent or otherwise not qualified
to be licensed, may upon written notice of at least five days to
the licensee require him to submit to an examination. Upon the
conclusion of such examination the department shall take such
action as may be appropriate and may suspend or revoke the
license of such person or permit him to retain such license, or
may issue a license subject to restrictions as permitted under
section ten, article two of this chapter. Refusal or neglect of
the licensee to submit to such examination shall be ground for
suspension or revocation of his license.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 8
§17B-3-8. Suspension for more than one year.
The department shall not suspend a driver's license or
privilege to drive a motor vehicle on the public highways for a
period of more than one year, except as provided in chapter
seventeen-c of this code.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 9
§17B-3-9. Surrender and return of license not required.
The Division, upon suspending or revoking a license, may not
require that the license be surrendered to and be retained by the
Division. The surrender of a license may not be a precondition to
the commencement and tolling of any applicable period of suspension
or revocation: Provided, That before the license may be
reinstated, the licensee shall pay a fee of fifty dollars, in
addition to all other fees and charges, which shall be collected by
the Division and deposited in a special revolving fund to be
appropriated to the Division for use in the enforcement of the
provisions of this section.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 10
§17B-3-10. No operation under foreign license during suspension
or revocation in this state.
Any resident or nonresident whose operator's or chauffeur's
license or right or privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this
state has been suspended or revoked as provided in this chapter
shall not operate a motor vehicle in this state under a license,
permit, or registration certificate issued by any other
jurisdiction or otherwise during such suspension or after such
revocation until a new license is obtained when and as permitted
under this chapter.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 11
§17B-3-11. Mandatory revocation of license of certain blind
persons.
The department shall forthwith revoke the license of any
operator or chauffeur upon receipt of certification by the
commissioner of welfare that he is a blind person receiving
public assistance or that his application for public assistance
because of blindness has been approved by the state department of
welfare.

(a) The commissioner shall suspend for a period of ninety days
the driver's license of any person upon receipt of a sworn
affidavit from any law-enforcement officer, employee of the alcohol
beverage control commission or employee of the division of motor
vehicles stating that the person committed any one of the following
acts:

(1) Displayed or caused or permitted to be displayed to any
law-enforcement officer or employee of the division of motor
vehicles or have in his or her possession any fictitious or
fraudulently altered driver's license;

(2) Loaned or gave his or her driver's license to any other
person or knowingly permitted the use thereof by another for an
unlawful or fraudulent purpose;

(3) Displayed or represented as one's own any driver's license
not issued to him or her; or

(4) Used a false or fictitious name or birth date on any
application for a driver's license or knowingly made a false
statement, knowingly concealed a material fact or otherwise
committed a fraud in making application for a driver's license.

(b) For the purposes of this section, "driver's license" means
any permit, camera card, identification card or driver's license
issued by this state or any other state to a person which
authorizes the person to drive a motor vehicle of a specific class
or classes subject to any restriction or endorsement contained
thereon.

(c) No person shall have his or her driver's license suspended
under any provision of this section unless he or she shall first be
given written notice of such suspension sent by certified mail,
return receipt requested, at least twenty days prior to the
effective date of the suspension. Within ten days of the receipt
of the notice of suspension, the person may submit a written
request by certified mail for a hearing and request a stay of the
suspension pending the results of the hearing. Upon receipt of the
request for a hearing and request for a stay of the suspension, the
commissioner shall grant a stay of the suspension pending the
results of the hearing. If the commissioner shall after hearing
make and enter an order affirming the earlier order of suspension,
the person affected shall be entitled to judicial review as set
forth in chapter twenty-nine-a of this code and, pending the
appeal, the court may grant a stay or supersedeas of such order.
If the person does not appeal the suspension or if the suspension
is affirmed by the court, the order of suspension shall be
effective and the period of suspension shall commence to run.

(d) The suspended driver's license shall be reinstated
following the period of suspension and upon compliance with the
conditions set forth in this chapter.

WVC 17 B- 3 - 13
§17B-3-13. Reports by health care providers.
(a) Health care providers licensed and authorized pursuant to
chapter thirty of the code to diagnose or treat diseases,
disorders, disabilities or conditions, may notify the division in
writing of the full name, date of birth and address of every person
fifteen years of age or older who suffers from a physical or mental
disease, disorder, disability, condition or symptoms that prevents
the person from safely operating motor vehicle, and which is
either:

(1) Uncontrollable (either through medication, therapy, or
surgery; or by driving device or technique);

(2) Controllable, but the patient does not comply with the
recommendations of the health care provider for treatment or
restricted driving; or

(3) Undiagnosed but the extent of driver impairment is
potentially significant based on the patient's symptoms.

(b) Reports, recommendations or opinions, findings or advice
received or made by the division for the purpose of determining
whether a person is qualified to be licensed to drive are for the
confidential use of the division and exempt from provisions of
article one, chapter twenty-nine-b of this code and may only be
admitted in proceedings to either suspend, revoke or impose
limitations on the use of a driver's license pursuant to section
six, subsection (a)(5), article three, chapter seventeen-b of this
code or section seven, article three, chapter seventeen-b of this code, or to reinstate the driver's license.

(c) Reports, recommendations, opinions, findings or advice
received or made by the division for the purpose of determining
whether a person is qualified to be licensed to drive may not be
used in any proceedings to establish or prove competencies other
than qualifications to operate a vehicle.

(d) A health care provider who makes a notification pursuant
to subsection (a) shall be immune from any civil, administrative or
criminal liability that otherwise might be incurred or imposed
because of such notification if the health care provider has:

(1) Documented in the patient's record the disease, disorder,
disability, condition or symptoms which may impair the patient's
ability to drive a motor vehicle to a degree that precludes the
safe operation of a motor vehicle;

(2) Informed the patient that their disease, disorder,
disability, condition or symptoms may impair the patient's ability
to drive a motor vehicle to a degree that precludes the safe
operation of a motor vehicle;

(3) Advised the patient that he or she should not operate a
motor vehicle; and

(4) Disclosed to the patient that the health care provider may
notify the Commissioner of the patient's condition and of the
patient's inability to safely operate a motor vehicle.

(e) Compliance with or failure to comply with the requirements
of this section does not constitute negligence, nor may compliance or noncompliance with the requirements of this section be
admissible as evidence of negligence in any civil or criminal
action.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2016 Regular Session
The West Virginia Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.